Hell to pay: the rise of ransom attacks and what to do about them
Such attacks are ransoming businesses and taking them offline. Róisín Kiberd asked the experts how to survive them
There’s a scene in Ubik, the science fiction novel by Philip K Dick, which comes to mind every time botnets appear in the news. The debt-ridden protagonist, Joe Chip, tries to go out the door of his apartment. The door, however, has other ideas; equipped with AI and a smug, robotic voice, it demands payment of five cents and refuses to open.
Things escalate. The door cites a clause in the tenancy contract. Chip dismantles ...